That, therefore, which in these words the apostle seems to have had respect unto was the high priest’s entrance into the holy place, after his offering of the solemn anniversary sacrifice of expiation. Then alone was he admitted into that holy place, or heaven below, where was the solemn representation of the presence of God,—his throne and his glory. And what did he there? He stood with all humility and lowly reverence ministering before the Lord, whose presence was there represented. He did not go and sit down be- tween the cherubim, but worshipping at the footstool of the Lord, he departed. It is not, saith the apostle, so with Christ; but as his sacrifice was infinitely more excellent and effectual than Aaron’s, so upon the offering of it he entered into the holy place, or heaven
VER, 4.) EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 121
itself above, and into the real, glorious presence of God, not to mi- nister in humility, but to a participation of the throne of majesty and glory. He is a king and priest upon his throne, Zech. vi. 13,
Thus the apostle shute up his general proposition of the whole matter, which he intends further to dilate and treat upon. In this description of the person and offices of the Messiah he coucheth the springs of all his ensuing arguments, and from thence enforceth the exhortation which we have observed him constantly to pursue. And we also may hence observe: —
L That there is nothing more vain, foolish, and fruitless, than the opposition which Satan and his agents yet make unto the Lord Christ and his kingdom. Can they ascend into heaven? Can they pluck the Lord Christ from the throne of God? A little time wil] manifest, this maduess, and that unto eternity.
IL That the service of the Lord Christ is both safe and honour- able. He is, as a good, #0 a glorious master, one that site at the right hand of God.
IIL Great is the spiritual and eternal security of them that truly believe in Christ. Of all which severally afterwards.
Verse 4.
The design of the apostle, as we have now often showed, is to evince the necessity of abiding in the doctrine of the gospel, from the excellency of the person by whom it pleased God to reveal it unto us. This he hath done already in general, in that description which he hath given us of his person, power, works, offices, and
‘glory; whereby he hath made it evident that no creature whom God was pleased at any time to make use of in the revelation of his will, or the institution of his worship, was any way to be compared with him, Having proceeded thus far in general, he de- scends now to the consideration of particular instances, in all those whom God employed in the ministration of the law and constitu-
tion of Mosaical worship; and takes occasion from them all to set
_ forth the dignity and incomparable excellencies of the Lord Christ, -whorn in all things he exalts.
_ First, then, he treateth concerning angels, as those who were the , soaiade creatures, employed in the giving of the law. The genre owned, yea, pleaded this in their own defence, that besides
n of Moses, God used the ministry of angels in the
giving fhe law, and in other occasional instructions of their fore- Some of them contend that the last of the prophets was personally an angel, as the signification of his name imports. Holy
Stephen, upbraiding them with their abuse and contempt of their privileges, tells ther that they “received the law by the sae 3) ” or “ ministry”) “of angels,” Acts vil 53,
122 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. I.
And the Targum interprets the chariots of God, with the thousands of angels, Ps. xviii, 17, 18, of the angels by whose ministry God taught Israel the law. This, then, might leave a special prejudice in their minds, that the law being so delivered by angels must needs have therein the advantage above the gospel, and be therefore ex- cellent and immutable.
To remove this prejudice also, and further to declare the excel- lency and pre-eminence in all things of Him who revealed the gospel, the apostle takes occasion, from what he had newly taught them concerning the exaltation of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God, to prove unto them, out of the scriptures of the Old Testament, that he is exceedingly advanced and glorious above the angels themselves, whose concurrence in the ministration of the law they boasted in; and to this purpose produceth four signal testimonies, one after another.
This is the design of the apostle, which he pursues and makes out unto the end of this chapter; and that we may rightly con- ceive of his intention, and the meaning of the Holy Ghost in the whole, we shall, before we consider his proposition laid down in this fourth verse, or the ensuing confirmations of it, inquire in general what it is in Christ which he compareth with and preferreth above the angels, and wherein it is that he so exalts him.
The comparison entered on between the Lord Christ and angels must be either with respect unto their natwres, or unto their dig- nity, office, power, and glory. If the comparison be of nature with nature, then it must be either in respect of the divine or human nature of Christ. If it should be of the divine nature of Christ with the nature of angels, then it is not a comparison of proportion, as between two natures agreeing in any general kind of being,—as do the nature of a man and a worm,—but a comparison only mani- festing a difference and distance without any proportion. So answereth Athanasius, Orat. 11. adv. Arian. But the truth is, the apostle hath no design to prove by arguments and testimonies the excellencies of the divine nature above the angelical. ‘There was no need so to do, nor do his testimonies prove any such thing. Besides, speaking of angels, the other part of the comparison, he treats not of their nature, but their office, work, and employment, with their honourable and glorious condition therein. Whereas, therefore, the apostle produceth sundry testimonies confirming the deity of the Son, he doth it not absolutely to prove the divine nature to be more excellent than the angelical, but only to manifest thereby the glorious condition of him who is partaker of it, and consequently his pre-eminence above angels, or the equity that it should be so.